


Permanent Stains

by frozenCinders



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:41:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24246673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frozenCinders/pseuds/frozenCinders
Summary: Seto isn't an idiot, so he doesn't put any stock into superstition and rumors. He believes what he himself can prove to be true, and nothing else. That's why the claims of a vampire who hunts the rich don't intimidate him in the slightest.
Relationships: Yami Bakura/Kaiba Seto
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Permanent Stains

**Author's Note:**

> god please forgive the narration style for this one, i let kaiba stroke his big dumb ego for a bit
> 
> also, bakura's cute laugh is pulled directly from the manga

Seto isn't an idiot, so he doesn't put any stock into superstition and rumors. He believes what he himself can prove to be true, and nothing else. That's why the claims of a vampire who hunts the rich don't intimidate him in the slightest.

Besides, he's smart enough not to go wandering down random alleys at night or some shit, so even if some rabid freak who goes around biting people at night really does exist, Seto won't bump into them regardless. These days, he rarely goes out anyway, since there aren't any tournaments or urgent events going on. Instead, he spends his days locked away as he tinkers with new inventions, interacting only with his own employees during meetings and his little brother.

Today was spent playtesting a major update to one of the games at Kaibaland. One of the perks of his chosen walk of life, he'll admit, though he takes pride in everything he does. He has access to the software at home, but the cabinets at the theme park will need firmware updates to keep up, so he'll go overlook the process in person sometime later this week. The kids always get excited when they get to see Seto at Kaibaland. He's basically a celebrity.

There's a knock at Seto's door. He stops typing and waits for the person to announce themselves, but they don't. Assuming they realized they had the wrong door and moved on, Seto continues writing up the email he was working on.

In the silence of Seto proofreading said email, there's a loud _chnk_ sound at his door that bewilders him. What the hell could that have been? It disturbs his focus, so he saves the draft and gets up to check.

There is nothing in the hallway, strangely, but out of the corner of his eye, he finds a switchblade pinning a paper to his door.

"Ever wonder what makes blue blood differ from red?" the note reads. The handwriting is somehow both crude and composed, as if it's _carefully_ offensive to the eyes.

Seto dislodges the switchblade from the door and palms the weapon closed, storing it in his coat as he assesses the damage. The hole in the door is just as crude as the writing.

"I assume you're still close enough to hear me, whoever you are," Seto speaks, a tad above his normal volume so his voice will carry. "I don't take kindly to threats, especially in my own home. Just how stupid are you?"

He waits there for a moment in case the perpetrator feels like coming at him, but he's met with silence. He gets the urge to go check on Mokuba, but he's certainly not about to give his biggest weakness away to the enemy. Instead, he retreats into his room, leaving the door slightly ajar on purpose, and sends Mokuba a quick text asking if he's asleep yet. Every second that passes without his phone buzzing makes his anxiety grow, but he soon gets a text back. Apparently, Mokuba is staying up for a movie marathon on some cartoon channel.

Seto tells him not to stay up too late and to make sure his door and window are locked, and to not investigate any strange noises he may hear tonight, no matter what.

He keeps the door in his peripheral vision, turned away so that anyone sneaking in would think he can't see them, but nowhere near foolish enough to actually let his guard down. A few more minutes and he'll close the door and bring up the security feed instead.

His eyes widen when the door is closed, seemingly from the other side. Seto practically runs to it, hand on the knob when he hears something behind him.

"Going somewhere?"

Seto whips around-- how the hell did this man get in? He would have seen him come in through the door, would have heard him break the window.

"How long have you been in here?" Seto asks, figuring he must have snuck in earlier in the day.

"Oh, about five minutes," the stranger smugly claims.

"Yeah, bullshit."

"Is it, now? I was out in the hall just moments ago, apparently gifting you a knife."

That can't be true. This man sticking to the shadows of Seto's room must be one of at least two perpetrators. One to sneak in and one to leave the note.

"H-hahaha... You're clueless, aren't you? Although, you must not be _too_ intelligent to have hired such pathetic security."

So, the intruder knows Seto took his switchblade. Still, it's better not to make himself out to be a threat until he's ready to attack, so Seto lets the knife sit heavy in his coat pocket.

"Ah, the strong, silent type, are you? And here I thought all bluebloods were incapable of shutting up for two seconds."

Then it clicks for Seto.

"You must be the one masquerading as a vampire," he assumes.

"H-hahaha! Masquerading, hm?" the stranger echoes, amused by Seto's disbelief.

"Vampires aren't real. Instead of trying to convince me of your fictional _species,_ how about you tell me your name?"

Seto asks less out of interest and more so he can investigate him later. If this freak gets away, he'll at least have something to go on.

"My name is Bakura," he introduces, "and I'm already familiar with your name."

"Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, how about you get the hell out of my office?" Seto suggests, his tone warning. Bakura smiles at him.

"Let me show you something," he says.

Bakura takes a step back, so that the light from Seto's monitor no longer illuminates him, even as dimly as it had been. There's still a gleam in the darkness, a clear presence... until there isn't. Seto keeps his eyes open, staring straight at the spot he knows Bakura has to be--

"Boo."

Seto starts and swings at the voice directly behind him, and Bakura easily ducks back away from it.

"How the hell did..."

"Just a little trick I learned. H-heheh."

Whatever he just did, that... trick where he blends completely into the shadows, must be how he hid from Seto until a few minutes ago.

"Will you just tell me what you want already?" Seto asks, quickly regaining his composure. "You have to be here for a reason."

"Oh, indeed I am. But let me tell you something, Kaiba: I could have _easily_ waited until you were asleep. No, I prefer to watch my victims crumble, especially since they always start off so high up."

"You're planning to kill me," Seto observes, taking the knife out of his pocket now.

"H-heheh... That little trinket won't do you any good, but you're more than welcome to try," Bakura taunts. "Make this fun for me."

Seto unfolds the blade but chooses to wait for Bakura to make the first move. Bakura makes the same choice, standing there with his arms crossed as his shoulders rise and fall with an inaudible chuckle.

"I hope you don't mind bloodstains," Bakura comments idly.

"They'll add character to the room," is Seto's dry retort.

The first move Bakura makes is almost too quick to see-- he has Seto's right hand, squeezing tight to restrict his fingers, and he grabs the other one by the wrist when Seto tries to swing at him. Bakura rotates their position slightly and applies force as he steps forward, backing Seto against the wall just beside the door.

"Not so fun after all," Bakura says, his smile gone. He thinks for a moment, and then it returns.

"What now?" Seto growls, waiting for just the right moment to sweep Bakura's feet out from under him.

"Why don't we make a game out of this? First to draw blood wins. You stay right there and I'll walk to the opposite end of the room. From then on, anything goes. Sound fair?"

Seto glares silently.

"I'll choose to take that as a begrudging "yes". H-heheh."

The very second Bakura's grip loosens, Seto brings his heel down on Bakura's ankle and forces his foot forward, disturbing both his balance and his focus. He knocks Bakura's hands away from his own and grabs them both by the wrist in one hand, pointing the knife at Bakura's throat.

There is a second of stunned silence, and then the room is filled to the brim with Bakura's odd laugh. He sounds fucking _delighted_.

" _This_ is more like it! Play dirty, Seto!"

"I don't remember agreeing to be on a first name basis with some freak of the night," Seto states, feeling strangely like he doesn't have the upper hand at the moment.

There's a glint in Bakura's eye when he looks up at him, grin widening. Impossibly fast, Bakura slips a hand from Seto's grasp and grabs the knife by the blade. Seto attempts to apply pressure to cut Bakura's hand, but Bakura fights it too well.

Bakura opens his mouth and it's then that Seto sees them: fangs, _actual_ fangs. Despite himself, he's starting to believe that Bakura might _really_ be a fucking vampire.

Bakura lunges at Seto, who uses Bakura's own hand as a shield to protect his neck. Big mistake, as Bakura takes advantage of the position to wrap his fingers around Seto's throat, cutting off his air supply.

"Shit," Seto barely gets out in a hiss. To make matters worse, Bakura turns and sinks his unnaturally sharp teeth into Seto's arm through his sleeve. The pain startles him enough to loosen his grip on the switchblade, which Bakura quickly snatches from him.

"I'll be taking that back," he says, Seto's own blood staining his lips.

Seto's heart races so hard he can hear his pulse more than his own thoughts. He almost jumps out of his skin when there's suddenly loud knocking just beside his head.

"Master Kaiba?" one of his security guards calls. "Your little brother is worried about you. He asked us to check on you. Are you alright?"

Shit. Mokuba must have sent another text after Seto's warning and got worried when he didn't get a response.

"Want to watch me kill them?" Bakura whispers.

Now there is a moral dilemma. If he says yes, he could potentially gather himself enough to fight Bakura again, especially if at least one of the guards manages to actually help. On the other hand, at least one of them would almost certainly die to this creature. Seto is already convinced now that he's only alive because Bakura wants to torture him, and since the guards don't fit his M.O., they won't receive the same treatment.

Bakura lessens the pressure on Seto's throat to let him speak.

"I fell asleep," he lies without hesitation. "I'll reply to Mokuba in a minute."

"Ah. We're very sorry to disturb you. We'll be taking our leave, then."

The fading footfalls sound inversely like Seto's death approaching.

"Hmm... you passed up an opportunity to outnumber me," Bakura points out.

"Your quarrel is with me. You're my responsibility, and I don't go around handing my problems to other people."

"Your responsibility, eh? H-hahaha..."

"What's so funny this time?"

"Oh, nothing. Just thinking about how fun it will be to do this song and dance again with your little brother."

Seto attempts to snatch the blade from Bakura, but finds it pinning his arm to the wall by his sleeve instead. Bakura could have just stabbed him, but Seto isn't about to ask.

"Leave Mokuba out of this," he warns; not that he feels very threatening at the moment.

"Not to worry, he's too young. I'm sure he'd just cower in the corner, calling for his dear big brother to come and rescue him. No, I'll wait until he's grown into your current position."

"Threaten my little brother one more time. I dare you."

"You're mistaken, Seto. I'm not making threats. Just promises."

Seto's kick is intercepted by Bakura's own, and he digs his heel unnaturally hard into Seto's foot as punishment for trying. Bakura laughs at him.

"The protectiveness is cute. Really gives you a human side," Bakura points out.

The promise that Mokuba will be in danger if Seto dies here makes him determined to fight back even harder. He grabs the knife with the hand it's pinning and, with some trouble due to the position, yanks it out of the wall and slashes at Bakura. He backs completely away in order to dodge, finally giving Seto some room to breathe.

"If you want to talk about "cute", let's talk about the little wings in your hair," Seto taunts. "How would you like a trim?"

"H-hahaha! Now, this is more like it!" Bakura laughs, arms outstretched at his sides as if he's waiting for a hug. "Come at me with everything you have!"

Armed with the weapon Bakura himself provided him with, Seto pounces. They barely dodge a few blows from each other, until Seto grazes Bakura's jaw with the knife. At the same time, Bakura's fist would have made contact with Seto's temple, but he freezes when he realizes he's been cut.

"You actually did it," he says like he can't believe it.

Seto can't tell if Bakura sees that as good or bad, and he isn't about to wait around to find out. With unexpected strength, though, Bakura shoves Seto away and touches his jaw, his fingers coming away bloodied. He smiles at Seto. For some ungodly reason, Seto fights the urge to smile back.

"Hmm... I drew blood first, so I certainly won our little game, but this is still impressive," Bakura says, crossing his arms like he isn't on guard. He licks at the blood still lingering on his lips, and Seto is reminded of the crumpled note in his pocket.

"Is it taste?" he asks. "The difference?"

"H-heheheh, right on the mark."

Bakura bares his fangs and makes a show of licking across them. Seto almost stabs himself for finding it strangely attractive.

Then it occurs to him. What is the business world if not making deals with people you can't stand? Seto holds the switchblade in front of himself and closes it where Bakura can clearly see. He raises a brow, eyes flicking down to the blade for just a millisecond before they're locked with Seto's again.

"I'll cut you a deal, vampire," he begins, the words bitter and dry in his mouth. "A regular supply of my blood. In exchange, you don't _ever_ even _think_ of touching my brother."

Bakura laughs at him again, loud and pretentious.

"As if your pride would allow it. I don't drink from blood bags, Seto, I take from the _source!_ "

Seto almost gets spooked by his own sweat rolling down his cheek. If he offers Bakura his neck, will he play nice? Will he leave Seto alive and forget about his brother?

"If I throw away my pride for the sake of my brother, will you respect that and leave both of us alive?" he asks outright.

Bakura hums, placing a hand on his chin as he toys with the idea. Then he walks forward and holds out a hand. Without needing to be told, Seto returns the switchblade. Bakura pockets it and stares at him.

"Well?" Bakura is the first to say. Seto realizes that he has to bare his throat now and it suddenly becomes a lot harder than he thought it would be. The utter submission, the inevitable pain, the fact that there's no guarantee that this will even work-- every part of him screams not to give in. But this was his own idea, and he's not about to chicken out.

So, Seto closes his eyes and tilts his head up and to the side. Bakura is slow about taking his prize, allowing what feels like decades to elapse before Seto even feels his breath ghosting over his skin. It gives him goosebumps.

He gasps when there's a sudden pain in his neck, but refuses to make a sound beyond that. It's oddly sensual, letting Bakura drink from him, and Seto scolds his body for wasting the blood he's actively losing by sending it up to his face for whatever godforsaken reason. He doesn't need to be fucking _blushing_ on top of everything that's already going on. Bakura will only take it as more fuel for the fire.

Bakura finishes with a lick as if to seal the wound back up, and then he pulls away. Seto is still very much alive. Humiliated and confused, but alive.

"I didn't think you'd actually sit still like a good boy. No hands flying to my shoulders or anything," Bakura smugly comments.

Is there some kind of fucking vampire magic that makes people fall in love the moment they're bitten? Not that Seto would ever admit to "love", but Bakura's insufferable grin is strangely attractive now. It sure would be nice to steal the power back in this situation, and one particular opportunity beams at Seto.

So he takes it. He grabs Bakura by the jaw, hesitating just long enough to see the soft shock overtake his normally sharp features, and then Seto can taste the overpowering flavor of his own blood. Seto's middle finger presses against the cut he'd left on Bakura's jaw; a nice way of adding insult to injury. Bakura doesn't take it as one, though, if him chuckling into the kiss and making no attempt to stop him is any indication.

Seto pulls away, scowling at himself for what he just did. Bakura is back to looking smug again.

"You've provided me with a lot more than I'd expected tonight," he says, eyes drifting from Seto's own to rest on his lips instead. "Expect to see me again."

He opens the door and must use that trick of his again, because he's already out of Seto's sight by the time he leans out to watch him. Seto shakes his head and closes the door, pulling his coat off and starting to unbutton his shirt. The sleeves of both of them have been punctured and stained with blood. He'll have to repair them himself to avoid questions, especially after what he said to Bakura about the bloodstains adding character.

Despite all reason and logic, Seto decides to keep Bakura's visit to himself. He decides to keep the bloodstained clothes and makes no plans to fight the stains. And, for reasons he cannot begin to comprehend, the flutter in his chest when he thinks of seeing Bakura again feels... nice.


End file.
